Youth Group & School Programs
For more information ASI Youth Classes and Programs, contact our Youth & Family Programs Coordinator at 612-870-3374.
School Programs
Add a program about Swedish immigration or traditions to your tour, or have us visit your classroom, school assembly, cultural fair, or Scout meeting! Choose from one of the following topics and we will tailor it to age, group size, and thematic expectations.
Swedish Immigrant Trunk
Participants handle century-old objects to consider cultural difference and change over time. The artifacts in our 1860s Swedish immigrant trunk are tools for teaching immigration and the importance of preserving history and traditions.
A Year of Swedish Traditions
Why do Swedes hop like frogs around the maypole? How do Swedish families celebrate Sankta Lucia? Why do we leave rice pudding for the tomte, the Christmas elf? Our Swedish holiday basket is full of objects showing how Swedes celebrate a year of traditions.
Christmastime in Sweden
Jul (Christmas) is the most important time of the year for many Swedes, filled with special smorgåsbord foods, Sankta Lucia celebrations, and a visit from tomte, Sweden’s version of Santa Claus. We’ll take you from Advent to the last plundering of the Christmas tree!
Swedish Holiday Crafts
Participants make a traditional Swedish-themed item to keep! An abbreviated Year of Swedish Traditions or Christmastime in Sweden presentation is followed by a hands-on craft activity.
The Tomte Tour
The Tomte Tour booklet offers smaller youth and home school groups a great option for independently exploring the Turnblad Mansion. Copies are available for $2 each in the Museum Shop.
School Programs
The American Swedish Institute offers a variety of programs for your school or youth group! Choose from one of the Youth Tour options listed below. A School Program about immigration or Swedish traditions (at right) can be included as part of your visit to the Turnblad Mansion, or we can bring the program to you. A Dramatic Presentation is a very special option that will bring your group’s imagination to life.
Youth Tours
Mansion Tour
Learn about the Turnblad family, who lived in this turn-of-the-century mansion, and see their former home from top to bottom. Learn about Swedish immigration, Minneapolis history and the art and architecture of the mansion. Tours are adapted according to your group’s age and interests.
Stone, Tile, Wood, and Wool:
The American Swedish Institute is filled with handcrafted detail rarely found in houses built today. As you explore the rooms, view and handle items up close made from carved wood, cast plaster, tile, glass, stone, and wool to understand the handiwork involved in building this mansion.
Dramatic Presentations
Youth and adults alike will enjoy an entertaining look at Swedish immigration or traditions, presented at your school, community center, or as a part of your visit to the American Swedish Institute.
Delia’s Decision
It’s 1912, and Delia Nilsson faces a difficult decision: should she immigrate to Minnesota, or stay in Sweden? What do you think? Students are drawn in through age-appropriate interaction and role-playing, as well as period games, songs, and documents.
Sigrid’s Saga
Grades 8- adult: Sigrid Kronblad was a real woman who came to Minneapolis with her mother and two sisters in 1907 in search of her father who never turned up. Sigrid takes the audience through arriving at Ellis Island, travelling to Minnesota, and making a home in a new land.
Swedish Folk Tales
What happens when three billy goats gruff encounter an ugly troll on their way to dinner? How did varg (wolf) trick björn (bear) into losing his tail? Students love hearing Swedish language integrated into classic tales through animated and engaging storytelling techniques.
For details regarding prices, group size and more, please view our complete School and Outreach Programs brochure (SchoolPrograms.pdf).
The American Swedish Institute, founded in 1929, serves as a gathering place for people to share stories and experiences around universal themes of tradition, migration, craft and the arts, all informed by enduring ties to Sweden.